captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: in pakistan, demonstrators toppled huge sea containers, police fired tear gas, and at least 19 people died in violent protests against the anti-islam film produced in the u.s. good evening. i'm judy woodruff. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the newshour tonight, we assess what's fueling the anger in the muslim world, and what can be done to tamp it down. >> woodruff: then, ray suarez examines the move to end a rite of passage on some college

campuses that's turned dangerous and sometimes lethal. >> today we saw students that were a part of it and that were excited about it, that were standing up saying i commit to end hate. >> brown: we go behind the frontlines with the rebels in syria to a town that's turned into a vicious battleground, its people ravaged by war. >> a year ago none of these men had ever carried a gun or a bomb. today they're making them. >> woodruff: we update the presidential race as mitt romney releases his 2011 income taxes, showing he paid at a rate of 14%. >> brown: and mark shields and david brooks analyze the week's nes. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy productive life. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >>his program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

>> brown: violent protests erupted across pakistan today. 19 people died and scores were wounded. the pakistani government had declared this a national holiday-- "love for the prophet day"-- and encouraged peaceful protest. some 15,000 people filled the streets in the southwest city of karachi. >> ( translated ): we want to show the world that muslims are one and united on this issue. we all are ready to die for prophet muhammad. we have left our family to join the protest and will remain here till the protest is over. >> brown: but things quickly turned violent, as crowds burned cars, theaters and a bank, and some opened fire on police. at least a dozen people were killed, including three officers. there were more deaths in peshawar, to the northwest, where rioters set fires, and police fired back with tear gas and live rounds. and in the pakistani capital,

islamabad, police battled hundreds of protesters to keep them away from the u.s. embassy. protests were largely peaceful in indonesia, egypt, iraq, bangladesh, and sri lanka, but no less anti-american with crowds burning flags and effigies of president obama. in washington, u.s. officials kept a close eye on events, as secretary of state hillary clton met wi the pakistani foign minister. >> i want to thank the government of pakistan for their efforts to protect our embassy in islamabad, and consulates in lahore, peshawar and karachi. and i want to be clear, as i have said on numerous occasions- - the violence we've seen cannot be tolerated. of course, there is provocation, and we have certainly madelear

that we do not in any way support provocation. >> brown: that provocation took the form of an online trailer for a film made by a california man mocking the prophet mohammed. new fuel was added this week when a french satirical magazine published crude cartoons of mohammed. hoping to ease the tensions, the u.s. embassy in islamabad began airing an ad on pakistani television yesterday with clips of secretary clinton and president obama. >> we reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. >> brown: pakistan's relations with the u.s. had already been tense over american drone attacks in pakistani territory and the seal raid that killed osama bin laden in 2011. after her washington meeting today, the pakistani foreign minister avoided directly criticizing the riots in her country. but she did voice gratitude for the u.s. response to the video. >> your condemnation has given a strong message that the united states government not only

condemns it, but has absolutely no support for such blasphemous videos or content anywhere. i think that is an important message. i think that should go a long way in ending the violence on many streets in the world. >> brown: but in iran, at a military parade, president mahmoud ahmadinejad accused the u.s. and others of promoting strife under the guise of protecting civil liberties. >> ( translated ): they are seeking to trigger ethnic and religious conflicts. they chant fake slogans of freedom, and claim commitment to freedom of thought and freedom of speech. >> brown: and back in pakistan, prime minister raja pervez ashraf called for the world to outlaw blasphemy. >> we are demanding that the united nations and other international organizations seek a law that bans such hate speech aimed at fomenting hatred and sowing the seeds of discord

through such falsehood. >> brown: in the meantime, pakistan shut down youtube access after the web site refused to remove the anti- islamic video. and in france, authorities banned all protests for the day in a bid to prevent violence. in another some 30,000 libyans march 234d benghazi in a demonstration against islamic extremists. the crowds mourn the death of christopher stevens last week and demanded that a large militant group ansar al shariya dispanned and called for libyan's interim government to improve security. for more, i'm joined by shibley telhami, the anwar sadat rofessor of peace and development the univeity of maryland. and lawrence pintak, dean of the edward r. murrow school of journalism at washington state university, and a former middle east correspondent for cbs news who's written widely on media in the middle east. shibley telhami, a piece of this unrest clearly seems to

involve very different understandings of the notion of free speech and responsibility. what do you see? >> i... first i done think it's really about free speech. s important and there's no question that in arab, in muslim countries's understandi the nature of free speech in the west is difficult n part because clearly they haven't experienced the kind of democracies, including the countries that are now changing. and one cannot expect them to fully understand the consequences or have thought them out. we think about our democracy when women got rights here; when african-americans got rights here. so it's evolving. no question there is that problem. but i think it's really not so much about free speech. i think no matter what we do or so there are two things going on at the same timement one is there is an anger with the u.s. separate from this that is being exploited. that anger is pervasive. it's not just in some-- it

is tied to bigger issues. there was a sense particularly over the past decade that islam is under assault from the west in large part because of the iraq war, the afghan war, israel's war, lebanon, and gaza and a discourse of the western civilization, so there is that and an expression of that. but there is also the divide within each one of these countries, partilarly it started in the countries where revolutions took place and libya, and tunesia, and yemen. there is a contestation for control, governments are still week. and so because islam is so... is still pervasive as a religion, and in fact islamic society tend to be the most religious in the world, it is easy for groups with political intent to rally the public behind them particularly extremists. >> brown: let me bring in lawrence pintak, how do you... that is a lot on the table, free speech, religion, power struggles that go back

in time. what do you see when you look at events today and over the last week or so? >> there's all those things going on. but at the bottom line it is agit prop designed to provoke the hard line in the middle east and beyond that success fey does that because it's an excuse for them. in egypt we have cops who are trying to undermine-- and across the broader muslim rld you have hard-liners seizing on this for their own goals. >> brown: an larry pintak just so stay with you, it is clearly the interconnectedness of the world makes this much easier to happen. somebody doing something amateur, amateurish, certainly in california but it allows some forces to use it. >> yeah, this is a youtube effect, if you will, where an extremist in california

can light a spark that explodes in the muslim world. and it's because we have instant media. but it's also important to remember that while this thing was on, we're talking about the film was on youtube for a while, it was only when it was picked up by mainstream pan-arab tv stations in the middle east that it had this effect. so just as the arab spring we had this digital one two punch of social media and then mainstream media in the form of arab television, we had the same effect going on here. >> brown: it is also, shibley telhami, clearly a lot of these people would never have seen the video. so something is going back to what is stocking them and driving them. >> not only never would have, they haven't. the vast majority. >> brown: you said it more directly than i did. >> all it takes is somebody to say that islam is under assault or somebody is trying to do it and i think because of the suspicion. i say it's to the about the freedom of speech in part because i think no matter

what you do with the freedom of speech, you cannot prevent that in the modern internet t is going it to happen. and two even if the u.s. distance itself as it should and has, people are going to see an american hand in it because of the suspicion an mistrust. >> brown: but when we see, as we saw in our taped piece from pakistan, a call for outlawing... an international law outlawing blasphemy and we hear if set in freedom speech and legal terms. >> obviously you will have that kind of debate. and people clearly don't understand the complexity of what we have here in america, in terms of the fro dom of speech. i'm a defender of freedom of speech. i think usually it's to the the way to go. although i do struggle with it sometimes because i don't know at what point speech becomes action. you know, the student of one of the prominent philosophers of language john serle who talk approximated about speech x because obviously what you utter does have consequences and is intended to have consequence. and we need to evaluate that. but i don't think that we need to evaluate that

specifically because of this particular episode. i think in this particular case, part of the problem is that there isn't somebody who will go out there and say this is wrong and be credible there are a lot of people saying this is wrong, that is a reaction. we see the... of egypt saying look, the prophet took insult and didn't react like violence, be like the prophet. mr. ganushi head of the leading islamic party in tunisia say it is a threat to tunisia, so people are saying, but for now because the arab revolutions have been mostly grass roots, mostly popular, mostly authentic, they didn't develop charismatic leadership that can nelson mandela that can go out there and say this is wrong, we need to stop it. >> brown: larry pintak, when you think about what could calm things down, we also saw on that early clip u.s. kind of ad, with the president and secretary clinton being put on pakistani tv. how unusual is something

like that? how effective might something like that be? >> well, i think in this case it is a good step. how effective ultimately it will be we'll see. but i mean it's certainly much better. we had the old shared values. what i call the happy muslim ads under the bush era telling muslim, the muslim world how wonderful it is for muslims in america. and that directly had a counterveiling effect. this can have an effect. let me go back to one thing that shibley said. this issue of free speech and the concepts of free speech in the muslim world. when we talk to journalists, we do surveys of journalists in the arab world. they all talk about the need for objectivity. but there is also a strong feeling that journalism must be responsible. and there's a real, they have a tough time understanding how an american or european news organization can publish something leak the mohammed cartoons in thename ofree speech.

and to get to this issue of what do we do, how do we address this, one of the things is that free speech is critical. i'm the dean of a journalism school. i've been a journalist for 30 odd years. free speech, free media is in my blood. but by the same token, i don't need to condone acts of agitprop that are done under the cloak of free media. and i think the ads, for example, speak to that. and i think the more news organizations that say that, that denounce this kind of thing, the better we will communicate that message in the muslim world. >> brown: shibley, very briefly, please, the libya situation, is that more of a sign of hope. that's still developing. >> it is a sign of hope. i think the fact that you have thousands of people taking to the streets and not just demonstrating but going against the group that they think is extremist and, in fact, is reclaiming benghazi or saving benghazi, i think it is helpful. that's the sort of debate that is going on. i told you something about

american foreign policy. we can't walk away from this don't make drastic decisions and pull back because of this crisis. there's a battle going on within arab countries, muslim countries, it's going to be their own battle and we have to understand we don't want to support the ones who are the extremists who will have the advantage if we do. >> brown: very interesting developments, shibley telhami and lawrence pintak, thank you very much. >> pleasure. >> woodruff: still to come on the newshour: hazing on college campuses; a syrian town caught in the crossfire; the presidential contest as romney releases tax forms; plus, shields and brooks. but first, the other news of the day. here's kwame holman. >> holman: all 33,000 u.s. troop sent to afghanistan as part of a military surge now have left the country. the official announcement came today from defense secretary leon panetta. president obama ordered the extra forces two years ago to help defeat the taliban and train afghan security elements. nearly 100,000 nato troops remain in afghanistan, including

some 68,000 americans. a court in turkey today convicted 326 military officers of plotting to overthrow the government in 2003. the defendan included the former heads of the air force, navy and army. they were accused of planning to topple prime minister recep tayyip erdogan. his islamic-based government first took power in 2002. california congresswoman maxine waters will not be charged with violating house ethics rules. the los angeles democrat had faced allegations she sought $12 million in federal bailout money for united-one, a bank her husband owns stock in. but the committee's outside counsel, billy martin, found waters believed she was acting on behalf of all minority-owned banks. >> we recommended to this committee in a written report that covers almost 150 pages that the evidence on the record does not support a knowing violation of ethics rules or any other

standard of conduct with respect to representative max even waters-- maxine waters by a clear and convincing standard. >> holman: the report did raise questions about actions by waters' grandson and chief of staff, mikael moore. moore has denied any wrongdoing, but he may receive a letter of reproval from the ethics committee. general motors is recalling nearly 500,000 cars to fix a transmission problem-- they can remain in gear and roll away, even though they appear to be in "park." the recalled vehicles are the chevy malibu, pontiac g-6, and saturn aura from model years 2007 through 2010. all have four-speed automatic transmissions. g.m. said it knows of four crashes from the problem but no injuries. wall street closed out the week on a down note. stocks mostly failed to hold earlier gains, and the dow jones industrial average lost 17 points to close at 13,579. the nasdaq managed a small gain,

four points, to close near 3,180. for the week, both the dow and the nasdaq lost a tenth of 1%. the nation's largest cancer center has launched a campaign to find cures for eight types of cancer. the university of texas m.d. anderson cancer center hopes to spend up to $3 billion on the effort in the next ten years. some of the cancers being targeted are early breast and ovarian, lung, pstate, melanoma, and two types of leukemia. it's estimated more than one and a half million americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year. more than 500,000 will die from it. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to judy. >> woodruff: next, when rights of passage rituals cross the line into potentially dangerous hazing. ray suarez has the story. >> suarez: students, faculty and trustees at florida a&m university, commonly known as "famu", gathered yesterday foa town halon hazing. it was their latest effort to

deal with an issue that made headlines last november. that's when drum major robert champion died after he was severely beaten in a hazing ritual by members of the school's popular marching band. 11 famu band members now face felony hazing charges, and on sunday, the school played its first football game in decades without the marching band. the band is suspended for a year. yesterday, the student body vice president said he hoped the town hall would mark a turning point. >> we've had these before but none like this. today was different, today was inclusion. today, you saw students that were a part of it, that were excited about it, that were standing up saying, "i commit to end hazing." >> suarez: that may be easier said than done. as the 1988 movie "school daze" depicted, at many schools, hazing has been a rite of initiation in fraternities,

sororities and other organizations for generations. but the famu incident and others have brought out the dark side of hazing. at cornell university, sophomore george desdunes died of alcohol poisoning during a fraternity initiation last year. the university then withdrew recognition of its sigma alpha epsilon chapter, banning it from campus. and this week, "the new york times" examined hazing at the state university of new york campus at binghamton. officials there shut down all fraternity and sorority pledging last spring after widespread complaints. one student had written anonymously to the university: "i was hosed, water-boarded, force-fed disgusting mixtures of food, went through physical exercises until i passed out." that kind of publicity, and the spate of deadly incidents, have left university officials across the country pondering what to do to keep students safe. for more on what draws people to hazing, both as victims and perpetrators, and what colleges

are doing about it, i am joined by susan lipkins, a psychologist and author of "preventing hazing: how parents, teachers and coaches can stop the violence." and travis apgar, associate dean of students for fraternity, sorority and independent living at cornell university. dean apgar there are millions of college students on thousands of campuses across america. is this a big problem in american education or really an isolated incident? >> no, it's certainly not an isolated incident. this is an issue that exists on virtually every campus in the country if not beyond that. we know that the national research tells us that about 55% of all students have experienced lazing as a result of being a part of some sortf organization or team. and so i would say that it's far beyond an isolated incident. >> suarez: dr. lipkins, there have been movements from administrators, from student leaders, from the

organizations themselves to stop it yet as you heard dean apgar, more than half of all collegiates who join a group are hazed. what is going on there? >> yes. well it's pervasive and it's integrate mood our culture and our society. there's a huge code of silence so that people who are victimized do no come forward. and a lot of kids feel like, you know, this is a rite of passage and there is no big deal. they're having a great time, even if they're not having a great time they bond and they feel that it's worth it. that this is something that proves that they're worthy of being in the group. >> suarez: what should we describe as being under the rub rick of hazing-- rubric of hazing, going to a campus party in a diaper, being covered in chocolate sauce seems fairly benign but at the other end of the continuum there is physical abuse that borders on the fatal. >> ght. well, i define it as a process based on a decision used by groups to maintain a

hierarchy or discipline. and regardless of consent, any of the kinds of activities that are psychologically or physically harmful are hazing. as you said it goes from mild to severe but it can end up in death as it did in this case. >> suarez: so dean, does trying to top this force it underground, out of site, make it harder to police? >> it is very difficult. >> i think it's the way awe approach the subject. if you are to really affect change which is the challenge that we have here while keeping all that we know to be good about some of these processes or some of the organizations and memberships, certainly, without, without throwing out the baby with the bathwater, we need to do more than just police it, do more than just enforce it. we know that is a key element to any strategy that will be effective. but we certainly need to change the mind-set that our students have. this is a real challenge to get them to think differently about hazing so they start to implement different initiatives,

different kinds of traditions to replace what exists now. >> suarez: but changing a culture, changing a mind-set is often a long process. these people are only in college for four years, ideally. >> right, i think that we really have to... . >> no question, there is a long process. and i would say that the idea that we are... that they are here for four years, maybe five depending on what their major is, works to our benefit. we have turnover on a consistent bas, so worng wi stunts ar in and year out as they come to our campus, help them understand what hazing is and taking a certain stance against it, as people come and go, they actually will hopefully we'll see the culture change more readily because of that transition. we absolutely have to deal with the fact that we know that about half of students, almost half of the students that come to us from high school having experienced hazing and that is a real challenge. every campus is different

way different culture. so if that is true that is reason to believe that what we are doing on our campuses should be able to institute a certain mind-set around things like hazing and the way that the students see it as well. >> suarez: dr. lipkins wouldn't some of the participants just saying no break the chain? >> well, we would like it to be that easy and to just say no. but really you need a group. you need more than one. you need at least two or more people to stand up and question the perpetrators or the leaders and a say

killed on the same day. but in the first massacre they killed my brother. >> how do you feel about it? >> i hope god will curse them, paralyze and blind them. >> do you understand what is going on in syria? >> i know assad's regime and militia are killing people. >> reporter: why? >> i don't know. so he can remain the president. >> reporter: here, then, lie the bodies of 26 members of the saleh family. this is what happens to the relatives of a syrian army

defector. the u.n. visited, took photos, and left. that was the last the town saw of the outside world. >> ( translated ): these are the aves of the massacred. these graves will bear witness to history. here lies a nine-year-old child. >> reporter: abu zahar has been a farmer all his working life. but what happened here has changed him forever. >> ( translated ): these people were murdered in front of their homes. some were shot at point blank range. some had their throats slashed. >> reporter: in all, he says, 65 people lost their lives in an orgy of killing that lasted just half an hour. abu zahar and his neighbors have taken up arms against the regime. inasmuch as anyone controls the town, they do. this makeshift local group is

part of the free syrian army. but they only have basic weapons. they have to make the rest themselves. even, should it come to it, suicide vests. >> reporter: this is used around the waist under the clothes. you ld this in your hand and you put it like this. it's for self defense. would rather kill themselves >> reporter: these men say they would rather kill themselves than be captured by the regime. >> ( translated ): first you defend yourself with the grenade. if it doesn't work, then you use the pistol. if that fails, this is the final option. that would be the last moment of your life. >> reporter: amongst the goats and chickens, a d.i.y. munitions workshop has been set up in the backyard. a year ago, none of the men had ever carried a n or a bomb. today, they are making them.

>> ( translated ): we take this powder from it. >> reporter: with little money or support from outside, they have to rely on their own ingenuity. >> ( translated ): i have a certain amount of this. every time a missile doesn't explode, i take it to my mines and i.e.d.s, which we place on roads. in case they launch an attack, that's how we defend ourselves. >> reporter: the community in this area mirrors so much of what is happening across syria. lots of farmers, peasants, workers, above all defending themselves and hoping against hope that someone somewhere will come and help them. some are coming, men like these

libyans, foreign fighters w see this war as part of a wider cause. but their presence is not always welcome. most syrian rebels are bonded by longstanding ties of community and history. syria's government claims they are terrorists. they say they are fighting for freedom from persecution and attack. but some do fear an influx of foreign fighters with their own agendas who could radically change the nature of this war. >> ( translated ): bringing reigners tsyria is wrong. we have a lot of them now, a lot. that's the problem. >> ( translated ): he is right. we'll have big problems after assad falls. >> ( translated ): i wont allow any foreign fighters in this area. the growing numbers are frightening. they have the same mentality as al qaeda. we don't think like that. i can see them using car bombs.

in syria, we don't have that mentality. >> report: assad may represen the common enemy to these people, but amid the ferocious, competing currents even in so remote a terrain as this, what kind of syria will emerge? at abu-zahar's home, scouts report that troops surrounding the town are moving. they fear another massacre may be imminent. this is a community living in fear and rage, an emotional cocktail driving a simple farmer to extreme measures. >> ( translated ): if the international community does not intervene, i will give my son to al qaeda, this young son. we will join al qaeda and become

human bombs. we'll put on suicide belts. we'll make bombs and i.e.d.s and let them off everywhere. but only against our oppressors. we only have god. we only have god. but we will be victorious. >> brown: on monday, a united nations panel reported a rise in the number of foreign islamist fighters in syria. the u.n. group warned that the foreign jihadists could radicalize the rebellion against syrian government forces. >> woodruff: we turn to the presidential campaign, as the candidates sparred over medicare, and the republican nominee offered up some long- awaited financial information.

mitt romney addressed a long running campaign issue, releasing his 2011 tax returns showing that romney and his wife ann earned $13.7 million last year, mostly investment income; and paid just over $1.9 million in taxes for an effective tax rate of 14.1%. they also donated a little more than $4 million to charity in 2011, almost 30% of their income. romney commented (did not romney did not comment on his taxes at a stop in las vegas late today. his campaign also posted online a letter from accountants saying he paid an average effective federal tax rate of 20% over a 20-year period ending in 2009.

to take from some and give to others this redistribution idea this redistribution idea has been tried in other places. this is not a new idea. it's just never worked in other places. >> woodruff: president obama has criticized romney for refusing to release more than two years of returns. and appearing via satellite before a conference of the american association of retired persons this morning, mr. obama brought up romney's secretly recorded remarks about americans who don't pay income taxes, some of whom are elderly people on social security. >> given the conversations that have been out there in the political arena lately, i want to emphasize that medicare and social security are not handouts. you've paid into these programs your whole life. ( applause ) you've earned them. and as president, it's my job to make sure that medicare and social security remain strong for today's seniors and for future generations.

>> woodruff: both campaigns set out to woo older voters today, critical because they are almost twice as likely to vote as the youngest voters. republican vice presidential nominee paul ryan made the romney campaign's pitch to the aarp in person, drawing some boos when he insisted the president's health care law harms medicare. >> the first step to a stronger medicare is to repeal "obamacare," because it represents the worst of both worlds. (boos) i had a feeling there would be mixed reaction. it weakens medicare for today's seniors and puts it at risk for the next generation. >> woodruff: debate over medicare has intensified since ryan joined the ticket. democrats charge his budget plan would end the program. >> it's true, mitt romney would replace medicare's guaranteed benefits with a voucher system."

>> woodruff: a new obama ad makes that case, accusing romney of seeking to raise seniors' costs by up to $6,400 a year. that's currently airing in colorado, iowa and florida. and at an event today in virginia, the president said he would fight any changes to the program. >> i will refuse to turn medicare into a voucher. ( cheers and applause ) americans who have worked hard shouldn't have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies. >> woodruff: for its part, the romney campaign will continue it's pitch to older voters this weekend as paul ryan heads to all-important florida, which boasts the largest proportion of seniors in the nation. and to the analysis of shields and brooks--that's syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times columnist" david brooks. gentlemen, welcome. >> thank you. >> woodruff: so mark, the romney tax relief... tax

return information, what do we learn from that? >> well, first of all i thought it was ear onion, the satirical magazine of stephen colbert. i have no idea why romney campaign would revisit and revive the tax issue without resolving it. i mean all they did was put out 20 year summaries. so what you have done, an issue that bothered, pollsters said it bothered some people, he hadn't revealed them. the fact that he required everybody who was considered for vice president to provide ten years of personal tax returns even to get an interview for that job, and he hadn't himself. and now they kind of bring out this summary today that doesn't even questions. and so you have raised the issue again, judy. you hav't resolved it. you revived it. why? i mean to what end? >> woodruff: but hadn't they promised to put out the 2011. >> they promised to put out 2011, as i understand it by october 15th.

and you know, that was... you know, that was fine. and but why the rest of this sort of summary that... without specifics. >> a brilliant move to distract people from the 47%. >> okay. >> you have diabetes to distract from your cancer. i think it was mostly the promise. they did this. the accountants did their work. they came up with results. they might as well get it out on a friday afternoon. i think that was fine. i never thought... the issue that cut was the he's hiding something. and that is the thing about the romney campaign, he is hiding something whether it is his plans which he is not really making a case for or his personality which is hiding behind a faux persona. so that cuts. i don't think the actual details of did he pay this or that tax. to me the essential mystery of romney was sort of embedded in them which is the guy gets gives $4 million to charity. he is a genuinely good person around the people he knows. yet they don't talk about

that. you, i saw glenn beck show, not a big fan of glenn beck but i saw a glenn beck show we are has interviewed person after person, alcoholics, people romney has personally ministered to. all this incredibly uplifting stories. we saw a hint of it at the convention. and yet it either doesn't come... he's to the talking about that in public and it doesn't translate into a compassionate conservatism, which it could which is the logical outgrowth of his personal life. >> the persol, i think david put the finger on it will. the personal ethic which is commendable and records are replete with this. >> woodruff: we heard it at the convention. >> we heard it at the convention but even beyond that you heard it from people. but does it translate into public policy that, where he isn't there personally where even his considerable fortune can't make a difference. where there is a public policy that provides the same kind of encouragement, support. that is what is missing. the compassionate

conservatism is absent. >> woodruff: i hear you saying this doesn't put to end the clamour for the rest of the tax return, or does it. >> i think it does. i don't think he's going release anything more. and i think to the issue, it is done with and i don't think it will be a big issue. >> if there is a tape of him saying something about it, you know, another fund-raiser t will raise the slew again. >> woodruff: so what about the tape, the 47% comment, mark. how damaging is that? >> it's damaging, judy, because it plays into the stereotype that mitt romney that has emerged in this campaign. and that of an out of touch man who doesn't connect with ode people. andy crow hut of pew research's poll asked who connects bet we are ode people, barack obama or mitt romney. 66 to 23. i mean that means that people, have the people who are supporting him don't believe he connects. think about that.

and it just, beyond that t shows the contempt and a disdain for people, ode people. jack kemp to me was sort of the embodiment of what he called bleeding heart conservatism, somebody without cares, a conservative who cared about working people, care approximated about ode people. and just revered and honored people without got up every day, packed a lunch, punched a clock, raised a family, worked hard. they didn't have to be entrepreneurs. they didn't have to be impresarios, they didn't have to be starting corporations. i mean they were valued. and mitt romney's america, as outlined in that boca raton statement, they really aren't... they aren't valued people. >> woodruff: do you think what he says has resonance that it will go on and continue to be an issue? >> yes, if you look strictly at the polls, it's hard to see so far, it's still early days, the effect. because if you look at say the gallop poll it's tied. if you look at the average, obama has probably 3 to 5

point lead. and it's tough to see something you can distinctly tie to that comment. nonetheless it is certainly true already that this act, this comment has energized democrats enthusiasm way up this guy has got to be beaten and it's completely demorallized republicans, both on confidence grounds for a lot... for all republicans and on moral offensiveness grounds for a lot of republicans. >> woodruff: and you're hearing these calls to change the campaign. i guess a lot of people are quoting peggy noonan in "the wall street journal" today saying they need an intervention, a new c.e.o.. >> a losing campaign is like a bad marriage. i mean there is a lot of blame and a lot of recriminations. i don't care what it is, democrat or republican. what this shows to me more than anything else is that mitt romney was always a concept rather than a cause. in other words, he made sense. he was a business success in a bad economy. he was a turn around artist that is how you would sell

him. he had a beautiful family, a lovely family. he's free of any scandal, he's well educated, es a a hand some man, governor of a blue state. but he wasn't a cause. when ronald reagan got in trouble in 1980 and in did in that campaign there were people there who had been with him in 1964 and barry goldwater fight, been with him in 1968 when he challenged richard nixon as the conservative alternative, 1976 when he took on president-- there were to years of shared foxholes, there aren't with mitt romney so when mitt romney gets in trouble, there isn't that emotional cadre of people saying i've been there in the tough ones. and he was always good. >> yeah. i agree with that. though i would say the trouble is different. let me put it this way. several decades ago hi a chance to have dinner with tom clancy the thriller writer. he sat down and had just toured a battleship and seen a new weapon system and was bubbling overbout excitement about t new weapon system he thought was very interesting. and he was just talking

about it with great passion. and i remember thinking, you can't fake it if you don't feel that you can't write tom clancy nofls. and with mitt romney, he's faking it. i think he's a nonideaological guy running in an ideaological age who is pretending to be way more ideaological than he really is. so he talks like he is this cartoon image of how i'm speciesed to be talking and as a result it is stupid half, not half the time, some of the time. it's an impersonation so, if i... it's too late to chan who he is running as but just be the boring manager you are. he is a competent manager if we thought he was. >> woodruff: what does he need to do now, what does his campaign need to do. >> if i were he and he asked my advice i would say look, you got to stand for something. you want to be able to tell your grandchildren that in 2012 i ran for president and i stood for something larger. i don't care if it is embracing simpson bowles and saying this is what america, and i will tell you. it isn't going to be easy but we're all in thising to.

i don't care if it's selling yourself, i'm the turn ound artist and this is how i am going to do it. he has to get specific. he has to lay it out. he can't wait for barack obama to stumble and split an infin difficult in the first debate and hope that that is somehow the magic in the bottle. i mean i just think he has to figure out who inside of me i am and what i want to be able to tell my grandchildren yet unborn i stood for in 2012. >> and which would say he's going to say hey, you don't have to like me. i'm not going to be as personable as barack obama or bill clinton but i will reform our institutions. we have a couple institutions that don't work and i will rechange these organizations, the tax code, the educational system, the political conversation in washington, the entitle am. it is. those four things i will fix them. and if you change the political system and the tax code maybe i will have to raise revenues to cut a deal. i will do that. so that would be the sort of desperate thing i would have to do. i would say there is a time for desperation because you look at the state hold in ohio and florida, he's

trailing significantly. >> woodruff: you're saying that is affecting other races. >> you see the senate has collapsed for republicans in the last couple of weeks. even the house is beginning to falter. >> when somebody gets in trouble and victory has a fragrance all its own and so does defeat, people start to move away from you. they clam per, if you are leading judy and your presidential candidate, they want to be seen in every picture, pushing to get on the platform, all of a sudden when are you in trouble, they remember that the nephew is graduating from driving school that day. >> well, just quickly from the other side of the ledger getting back to our lead story tonight, turmoil in the middle east a lot of criticism in the last few days, especially from the right but from the center as well, the presidt saying he hasn't lead sufficiently, that the u.s. looks week in its results of the president's lack of leadership is that an argument that has legs? >> well no one likes to see things just spinning out of our control. and that's the way it looks.

now the president, not only does look weak, it looks like we don't quite have a policy. we're just muddling through. i think some of it sun deserved because there is frankly no, what is happening in the middle east and all these embassies is a society having a disagreement with itself an we're the victims as they fight amongst themselves over what sort of countries they want to be. we can't influence that to the degree we would like. to some degree we have no influence, no president could possibly have an influence but there certainly has been a lack of clarity in preparation of moving to a new middle east and being aggressive and promoting democracy and the right causes. >> there is an american interest, obviously, in each of theseountry notice entire region. there is not an american solution for every one or for anyone. and i do think the president made a political mistake and a personal mistake by going to the fund-raiser in las vegas. that's when it was made on

our libyan... but the attack on its am bats door. but i i do this, this is an advantage the president has had. mitt romney has never reached the level of credibility on commander in chief. and the question is, if it spins out of control, judy, and there is a sense of chaos, then theresident's own standg does well. beyond the interest of the united states and well-being of the world, politically, the political fallout is that it hurts barack obama. and the question is has mitt romney damaged himself so much that he wouldn't even be able to take advantage of it. >> woodruff: unfair to ask you such a big question with only a little bit of time. >> yes t is, but it's typical of you. >> woodruff: after all the nice things i said about you. >> i know. >> . >> woodruff: david brooks, mark shields, i guess wale have you back. and mark and mark and david keep up the talk on the "doubleheader." that's on our web site coming up after this program. >> brown: again, the major

developments of the day: violent protests raged across pakistan as crowds vented rage against the u.s. and an anti- islamic video. at least 19 people were killed. some 30,000 libyans marched against islamic extremist groups in benghazi. u.s. ambassador christopher stevens was killed there last week. and in the u.s. presidential campaign, mitt romney released his 2011 income tax return, showing he paid an effective tax rate of just over 14%. online, we have tips from a job- hunting expert. kwame holman tells us more. >> holman: need some professional advice for finding work? a longtime headhunter and consultant offers six suggestions for job seekers. he'll be featured on the newshour in an upcoming report by paul solman. jeff talks to poet laureate natasha trethewey, a frequent visitor to the newshour, about her post and her latest book of poetry. find that on "art beat." would medicare competition help contain costs? we go behind vice-presidential

nominee paul ryan's proposal to add market competition to the federal program and compareit to health insurance for federal employees. tonight's edition of "need to know" examines how changing demographics are reshaping the political landscape. "america by the numbers" airs tonight on most pbs stations. and tomorrow is american graduate day, when public media partners from around the country present a full day of programming about the nation's school dropout crisis. on "the rundown," we have a lineup of what and when to watch. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. judy. >> woodruff: and monday is the start of american graduate week on the newshour. the first of five consecutive stories is a conversation with three people who know exactly what it's like to want to drop out of high school. that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online, and again here monday evening. have a nice weekend, the first of the fall season.

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